Breaking the Swarthmore echo chamber

Introducing the Independent

Dear Swarthmore Students,

We are a group of six students leading the project to restore The Swarthmore Independent.

The Independent was started by a group of students who wished to provide a counterweight to the campus climate. Swarthmore is one of the most left-wing colleges in the nation, and unfortunately it can sometimes act as an echo chamber. Nearly every student is progressive politically and the two student newspapers are demonstrative of this fact, as most published articles or op eds are far left-of-center. Despite the campus being obviously oriented to the left, classes are somewhat balanced and mostly support free speech, and faculty members are generally very good at promoting free speech and the expression of different viewpoints in class.

Unfortunately, the general climate and the student body at Swarthmore tends to suppress moderate or right-of-center speech outside of the classroom, and students who dare to break the line can be attacked. That is why The Swarthmore Independent exists, and that is why we have decided to restart the publication.

We are not here to provide a conservative voice, merely a free one. Anyone who wishes to express an opinion, political or non-political, left, right, or center, and on any topic, will be allowed to make a submission. The Swarthmore Independent will be a newspaper dedicated to free speech, and its defense, which will be a common theme among posts from our regular writers. We hope that by normalizing the publication of viewpoints that are not in line with the campus consensus, we will improve the discussion climate on campus and defend free speech.

Thank you for supporting our paper, and we hope to accomplish our goal of improving campus discourse and providing a platform where anyone can present their point of view on a given topic, free of censorship and free of editorial backlash. If you would like to make a submission, please email mstein2@swarthmore.edu.

Sincerely,

The Swarthmore Independent staff

Update: to clarify our position on submissions, we would like say we are willing to publish submissions from the full range of viewpoints, but we will not guarantee that every submission will be published. Please email mstein2@swarthmore.edu to pitch an idea and receive confirmation that it will be published, or submit a written article without the guarantee.